Drexel after-school program combines dance, science and coding for a creative, integrated approach to learning
Posted by WHYY on December 16, 2025
Black Girls STEAMing Through Dance offers after-school classes, training for teachers, workshops and seasonal camps throughout Philadelphia.
About 10 children form a circle with Valerie Ifill, an assistant professor of dance at Drexel University. Ifill lets the kids know they’re about to play the “conditional statement game.”
“Can everybody please make a different symbol with your hands?” she asks the group. Some kids do a thumbs up or a peace sign. Others make a claw or a letter in American Sign Language.
“So, that’s the first part of our conditional statement. If we do a certain hand gesture, then something else will happen,” Ifill explains. “So, I need some creativity and I need a volunteer.” Soon, the kids are dancing to music and coordinating their movements based on the hand gesture Ifill shows them. She throws up a peace sign, which means they need to spin.
The kids are participating in a workshop called “Dance, Design and Code,” and most of them go to elementary and middle schools in the Philadelphia area.
The workshop and lessons are part of Black Girls STEAMing Through Dance, an after-school program that teaches kids how science, technology, engineering, art and math are connected.
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